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GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners
stealing; non-possession (non-acquisitiveness) and freedom from the slavery of
the palate; bread-labour: equal respect for all religions: Swadeshi; respectful
tolerance of differences of opinion, fearlessness and humility. On the basis of
these beliefs he formulated eleven vows that every member of the Ashram had
to observe. He looked upon the Ashram as a spiritual community of social
activists.
Gandhi went to attend the session of the Indian National Congress at Calcutta.
He had been present at an earlier session of the Congress. But then Gokhale
was there. He was not on his own. Since then, things had changed. The Indian
struggle in South Africa had made Gandhi known all over India. He had acquired
the reputation of a man who was both a saint and a militant. India is a land
that venerates saints. So Gandhi had his first taste of the veneration of people
who were eager for his darshan.
At this session, a young man from Champaran in Bihar, Rajkumar Shukla, met
him and talked of the woes of the peasants of Champaran and their exploitation
by the British. The planters were forcing them to cultivate Indigo on their lands
and imposing and extracting many illegal levies from them.
The poor peasants were compelled to make offerings of poultry, meat and the
like, whenever there were celebrations in the house of the planters. Gandhi
was touched by these accounts, but told Shukla that he would be able to go to
Bihar only after some days. Shukla persisted, following him from place to place.
Finally, a date was fixed, and Gandhi went to Champaran. There, his
preliminary enquiries confirmed all that Shukla had said. Gandhi decided to
stay and make a detailed enquiry before deciding on a course of action. He was
assisted by eminent lawyers like Brij Kishore Babu, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad,
who, later became the first President of India.
The news of Gandhi's arrival spread to the villages. 'A Mahatma had come to
save the starving and exploited poor peasant.' Thousands of villagers flocked to
see Gandhi. The town was overflowing. The British Collector got nervous. He
ordered Gandhi to leave the district. Gandhi refused saying that he had gone to
Champaran to help the poor, not to challenge the Government. He was arrested
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